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[Mark T]

I've realised for quite some time now that some decent wood chisels would probably make my boat building much easier.  I've not bought any as I'm unsure which sizes would be beneficial and my past experience with keeping them sharp is a bit hit and miss to say the least     


Not only that there are a bewildering amount of different makes at different prices too. 


So if you had to buy some chisels which sizes would you recommend for all round usefulness and how on earth do you keep them razor sharp?  I've tried a whet stone in the past with poor results, so how can a non-carpenter make chisels useful?  If I could get this right I think I could learn a new skill and save a lot of unnecessary sanding and get better results?


Ta Mark

[Tug Hercules Fireman]

I really find the Lee Valley Miniature Chisels to be of great value and benefit. They hold their edge well.

Lee Valley is a Canadian company, that ships Worldwide;

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,310&p=73673

[PhilandIom]

I use a set of four bevel edge C.K. chisels, 6mm to 25mm, I use a honing guide to sharpen them at the correct  angle, as I am hopeless at doing it by eye, on an oiled oil stone.
My advice would be to buy a quality set and keep them sharp by giving them a rub across the stone as soon as they lose their edge not waiting until they are truly blunt.
Good chisels will last you a lifetime, I confess to also having a cheap set that I use for rough work and finish off with the good set.

[sparkey]

  As been said have a good set for finish work and some old ones for hacking,some 30 years ago I bought a set of Mapple chisels for about 30 quid (must have been a bit flush at the time) 6mm to 25mm and they have served me well,also bought a box of old ones at a car boat sale for a fiver which took for ever to sharpen but are useful for rough jobs,as one of the other post says a honing guide and a good oil stone are must to keep them in good order...Ray.  

[Mark T]

THF - Thanks for the link I can feel $269 slipping through my fingers as I type     I'm bad when it comes to tools I've got loads except for wood chisels!


PhilandTom - sparkey - I never thought about having a set for roughing and another set for finishing but I guess that makes sense.  Can I ask though what is a honing guide???

[PhilandIom]

Have a look at these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l2632.R2.TR12.TRC2.A0.H1.Xhoning.TRS0&_nkw=honing+guide&_sacat=46576

In simple terms you clamp the chisel in them, they have a little wheel that runs on the stone'e face holding the chisel at the correct angle. I use an oil stone and have not done very well with the aluminium oxide type but that might be just me.

[Norseman]

There's a pleasure to be had from buying some nice quality and shiny tools but you can also rescue some really nice tools from car boots. There's something quite satisfying in bringing them back into use. Nothing wrong with either approach.


I always have a couple of old clunkers ready to abuse though - so handy for many things a chisel was never meant to do. My Grandad would spin in his grave if he knew the things I've used a chisel for 


Dave

[bj]

Recently my son rang me to ask me to pop into either Lidl or Aldi to buy him a set of chisels for the princely sum of £7. Having seen them in use they seem to be good value. The (sharpened) edge seems to hold well on the chisels.
Stanley Tools do (or used to do) a setting gauge for sharpening plane blades and chisels.  Just set the length for the appropriate angle.
There are composite carborundum stones with a smooth side and a coarser side of approximately 8" X 2" to use with the gauge.
As to lube for the stone, the thinner the better, it is there to wash away residue. My choice is parrafin because heavy oils just clog the stone.

[Fastfaz]

    Hi all,
         You won't go wrong with Marples or Stanley they are not cheap but they are made of steel not chocolate. The secret is to keep them sharp by giving them a quick sharpen as you use them with a Carpenters oil stone lubed with either 3 in 1 oil (this is what I use) or a mixture of engine oil and paraffin 50/50 but it stinks. Re size that depends on what you want to do but I would think for modelling you will be fine with a 6mm, 12mm and maybe an 18mm all bevelled edge type.
     Now the tricky bit! to sharpen them properly on an oilstone takes practise this is how I do it- squirt some oil onto the stone (hold it firm in a vice or against a stop) spread the oil over the stone surface, hold the chisel to be sharpened with both hands onto the metal part place it onto the stone in the oil with the back of the chisel towards you if you then lower the front edge down into the oil until you see it squeeze out that is the honing angle, now lock your wrists press down and push the chisel forwards under pressure keep doing this until you can feel a burr on the back of the chisel (the flat side) when you can feel the burr put the chisel flat side onto the stone, press down and push it back and forth, turn the chisel to the first way i.e. flat face away form you and press and push forwards, this will then thin out the burr next just run the now sharp edge across a piece of scrap timber and away you go.
     We chippies remove the burr by sort of slapping the edge on our palms but unless you know what you are doing its nought to Casualty in 3 seconds. Hope this helps.
     Cheers,
          Faz.

[Mark T]

Thanks all for the replys - I think I'm going to get some half decent small chisels and have a good practice in both using them and sharpening them too.  I don't know why i've not really tried it before but I'll let you know how I get on.


I think the thing that inspired me was seeing the pictures that B.B put on the forum making his prawn trawlers.  I know it takes years to master a tool but you've got to start somewhere 

[Peter Fitness]

I have a set of Stanley chisels which I gave to my father as a gift about 40 years ago. After he could no longer use them due to his age, he gave them back to me. They are lovely tools, and hold their edge well. I have two styles of honing guides, one in which the chisel or plane blade is clamped from its sides, and the other is a dedicated plane blade guide to which the blade is clamped using a screw through the hole in the blade.


Having spent over 36 years in the meat industry where sharp knives are a must, I know a little about sharpening knives and other tools. I don't use oil on a stone, as it tends to lubricate rather than allow the stone to cut. Instead I use kerosene which keeps the "pores" of the stone clear of fine metal particles, and allows the stone to do its work more efficiently. I'm not suggesting that oil doesn't work, rather that its use can reduce the abrasive effect of the stone. I have several stones of different grades, one dedicated to plane blades only. The reason for this is, sharpening knives, or relatively small blades such as chisels, can wear a stone unevenly, even rounding the edges slightly. This can affect a plane blade which needs to have its edge perfectly straight, so a dead flat stone is essential. Like Faz, after sharpening a knife we would always run the edge across a piece of softwood to remove the fine "wire" or burr.


My sharpening stones are all kept in custom made (by me) boxes for their protection. The boxes have small nails driven into each corner of the bottom, which are cut off leaving about 1.5 mm protruding. This allows the box to grip the wooden work bench thus preventing the stone from sliding whilst in use.


Peter.

[derekwarner]

Well......in OZ you get two types of wood chisels........Stanley & cheapies 

At the local Bunning's superstore spied a set of 4 wood chisels  in a plastic case.....super cheap price $10.00 per set 

I had visions of the most magnificent Swedish steel......edges honed by craftsman ........

Well, the only thing that was apparent after the first blow, was the manufacturer must have forgotten the heat treatment process 

So not to be outdone I attempted to provide my own heat treatment process......remembering  .....start the heat away from the point & wait until you see the blue to purple to straw, then quench in oil

The result?......I think that Mr Chinaman forgot to add carbon to the melt as the sharpened, heat treated & rehoned chisel has difficuilty in cutting a piece of toast ...... Derek

[Mark T]

The last time I managed to properly sharpen chisel and plane blades was back in 1984!  I was an apprentice and I used a a surface grinder, a 90 degree plate on the magnetic clamp and a sine bar to set the angles correctly.  I bet that I couldn't do it now though 

[SailorGreg]

All the advice above is good - you won't go far wrong if you follow it.  Decent tools to start with, and learn to sharpen them properly.

On sharpening, I went over many years ago to Japanese water stones.  They are a bit more pricy than the usual oilstones, and ideally you will have two or three different grades. They need to be used carefully as they take a lot of metal off very quickly but boy do they put an edge on a blade! And the lubricant is water, so a lot less messy than dripping oil over your work bench.  I always have used a honing guide because it's a (nearly) foolproof way of getting a consistent edge.  Waterstones here.  If you do go that way, read up a little on how to use and care for them - it's a whole new hobby!

Have fun - and it's true what they say, blunt tools are more dangerous than sharp ones.      Ouch!

Greg

[david48]

Hi Mark
There's a PM for you ,have a look a Lie-Neilsen chisels .
David

[tigertiger]

Paul Sellers is a master craftsman. He is making good an Aldi 7 quid chisel set. He says they are more than good enough.

He shows how easy it is to sort them out and how to sharpen them here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki8tt-VjwqI
He says he wants to demystify the whole process.


The other thing I learned is that he does not use a honing guide. He talks about a macro-camber. There is no bevel and micro-bevel, but a convex curved camber. This makes life really easy to sharpen. You can't get it wrong.


You can buy cheap diamond stones like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Faithfull-DWQUAD-Diamond-Sharpening-4-Sided/dp/B0010XF6SW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450431053&sr=8-1&keywords=diamond+stone+chisel+sharpener
I use one of these, but diamond stones are not cheap, but cheaper than Lie-Nielsen chisels.




NB The downside of stone, whetstones, is that you can easily make/wear them not flat any more. And that is bad for sharpening.

[RAAArtyGunner]

Paul Sellers is a master craftsman. He is making good an Aldi 7 quid chisel set. He says they are more than good enough.

He shows how easy it is to sort them out and how to sharpen them here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki8tt-VjwqI
He says he wants to demystify the whole process.


The other thing I learned is that he does not use a honing guide. He talks about a macro-camber. There is no bevel and micro-bevel, but a convex curved camber. This makes life really easy to sharpen. You can't get it wrong.


You can buy cheap diamond stones like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Faithfull-DWQUAD-Diamond-Sharpening-4-Sided/dp/B0010XF6SW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450431053&sr=8-1&keywords=diamond+stone+chisel+sharpener
I use one of these, but diamond stones are not cheap, but cheaper than Lie-Nielsen chisels.




NB The downside of stone, whetstones, is that you can easily make/wear them not flat any more. And that is bad for sharpening.

You didn't get it from me  but the white ones are best and if it happens, no longer flat, you can 'straighten' them by rubbing the stone on a piece of flat plate glass using water and very very fine sand.

[reg]

Hi Guys
Just looked at the link to horning guids
There are dozen of em 
can someone recommend one that works ? 

Hope you all get lots of nice presents for Christmas   Reg

[PhilandIom]

 I have the Stanley one that comes with the stone and oil as well, that works for me. Mine is many years old so I hope they are still the same quality.